Feel terrible pretty much always

DVG

Okay, so a couple months ago I found out I had Hypertension.. I was experiencing a daily headache, and decided to see my doctor to see what I should do about the High BP. It was more than a week later when they could finally see me, and the weekend prior I finally got worried enough about it that I went to the Hospital. They did an EKG, had me wait for four hours, then took my BP a couple of times. They told me my EKG was excellent, and that my BP was high enough to work to get it under control, but it wasn't high enough that I should be terribly worried about any problems.

I saw my doctor, who basically reiterated what they said, and had me stick with Metoprolol as my medication. The day after starting the meds I felt wonderful. Things have gotten steadily worse since then.

I'm taking the medicine, exercising most days of the week (Walking/Running, trying to build up my stamina to start running races and such with some friends of mine) and eating loads healthier than I have been pretty much my entire life.

I had blood work done as part of my diagnosis. Everything came back looking great, with the exception of my cholestorol. It was under the number it needed to be, but the ratio of good:bad wans't quite where it needed to be, so the doc told me to work on that with my diet (but it wasn't bad enough to add a second medication to the mix, though I don't remember the exact numbers).

While being on the Metoprolol and doing my new diet and exercise routine, I started to experience the following symptoms


* Started experiencing daily chest pains, most often off to the left side, occasionally on the right, and once or twice in the center. The pain doesn't generally last long. Usually it just hurts and then fades away, and is almost never an especially severe amount of pain. Sometimes it seems to throb for a while and then goes away.
* Feeling random pains all over, specifically at the area near my knees and elbows, though it's hard to decide exactly where it hurts
* Developed floaters in both eyes
* Frequently experiencing vision "wonkiness" where I feel like I can't quite see right, though I can never figure out what it is I can't see.
* Weakness in my left hand. Was still able to make full use of the hand, but it felt "off"
* Shortness of breath randomly onsetting

When I went to the doctor for my follow up, she did a second EKG, which came back great again, and decided I wasn't tolerating the Metoprolol well, and switched me to Micardis, which I've been on for over a month now. Some of the symptoms have gone away. I don't get the weak feeling in my left hand or the shortness of breath anymore. But I still get vision wonkiness and chest pains, which pretty much are with me all the time now.

(I've also noticed a few more symptoms that randomly crop up such as occasionally I'll get a tingly feeling somewhere on my back that last for a few minutes and then goes away).

I went back to the doctor a couple weeks ago, and she said we'd do another round of blood tests to see if we saw anything new, but generally doesn't seem worried. I, on the other hand, am terrified. I haven't had a single 24-hour period where I just felt normal since I started the medicine and eating right/exercising regularly.

So, I'm sort of just looking for some general advice here. I'm not sure if I should proceed with the course the doctor has me on and just trust that she knows what the hell she's doing, or if I should say fuck it and go find someone else who will do more tests. Or if I should take it into my own hands and try going off the meds to see if that helps.

Oh, and I'm 25, and there is no family history of early heart disease. I'm overweight, but as discussed above I am working on it.

TL;DR: 25;High blood pressure;Starting getting scary symptoms after starting new medication/lifestyle to control said HPB, switching medicines has not helped; Doctor not worried, but patient is.

Hawkstone

I strongly encourage you to get a second opinion. I had a doctor miss my crohn's disease for months and lost three years of my life in hospital stays and eventually my colon for it . Sometime they just miss the diagnosis and a fresh perspective never hurts.

Mustachio Jones

For the love of god get a second opinion. It took me nearly a year to finally get someone to throw their arms up in the air and mention the possiblity of chronic fatigue syndrome. The thing I've learned about doctors is that they are human. They are not gods. Listen to them, yes, but always seek another opinion. Shop around, if you will. Unless it works. There's a very fine line, because there's a good chance that you can burn some bridges if you're not careful. Some doctors are in it to help people, and some are in it for the money.

With further thought:
This is what I suggest you do: listen to what the current doctor says and continue on her course whilst getting a second opinion. That way you're covering all your bases and taking control of the situation. There's a very real part of sickness that's ingrained in how you as a patient perceive it. Yeah, it doesn't make your symptoms go away, but just knowing that you're doing something to help yourself can put you in better spirits. This I know from spending the past two, almost three, years battling CFS, and every little victory counts for me.

LewieP's Mummy

Mustachio Jones wrote: »

For the love of god get a second opinion. It took me nearly a year to finally get someone to throw their arms up in the air and mention the possiblity of chronic fatigue syndrome. . Yeah, it doesn't make your symptoms go away, but just knowing that you're doing something to help yourself can put you in better spirits. This I know from spending the past two, almost three, years battling CFS, and every little victory counts for me.

D:D:D:D:D:
I too have CFS, but it was picked up within 3 months of it starting,, almost 3 years ago. It can be hellish, I know, and yes, little victories matter. I walked about 3/4 of a mile this morning, I'm tired now, but 3/4 of a mile.

purplebubbles

I remember your last thread, I am sorry to hear that it did turn out that you have hypertension. I would echo the previous posts and suggest that you seek a different opinion and explain your concerns to another doctor. Even if it means writing a list and taking it to the appointment with you, so that you don't forget anything.

When you take your pulse does it feel irregular? Your EKG didn't show an abnormal rhythm? Those are primarily the only reasons a doctor would prescribe Metoprolol. It's used to slow heart rate, and hardly reduces blood pressure at all. Did you notice that your blood pressure had improved?

If you do experience chest pain, especially that of a central nature, that radiates to your arm, or your neck and feels like an elephant sitting on your chest then go to the hospital immediately to be checked out. The other thing is that if you have limb weakness, numbness or tingling, altered sensation, difficulty speaking, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing... then again go to the hospital ASAP.

Now that I have said all of that, don't stress until you get your second opinion, mostly blood pressure issues can be well controlled, and more often than not you'll have to change meds a few times before you get the right one for you.

Tahnka

I went through a similar situation in the past few months where all of these really odd symptoms started occurring. I felt horrible all day; as though as I wasn't healthy inside.

I was experiencing things like: Chest Pain, throbbing arteries, headache, dizziness, confusion, a foggy feeling in my brain (like my brain would just stumble for 3-5 seconds), my eyes weren't functioning properly, I felt chemically lethargic (not sleepy, almost like I was drinking Nyquil and then fighting it, it felt very foreign), I couldn't remember things, my muscles started hurting, my joints started hurting, sometimes I would get dizzy...the list just goes on and on.

I recently learned some amazing things about myself that have been very effective at completely eliminating all of those weird symptoms. I'm happy and peppy lately. I feel good inside. And my weird symptoms are gone. I fixed the symptoms within one day and I didn't take a single pill, medication, or even change my diet.

I went to an acupuncturist. I told him that I felt like my body had suddenly just gone "out-of-whack". I told him the symptoms and he agreed it sounded like my Qi(Chi) had just gone crazy. I had done a lot of reading about Qi before going to the acupuncturist and while is sounded plausible, I was very skeptical. But after the very first session I felt sooo much better. I went through 3 sessions, 2 days apart, and was feeling great. I then stopped the sessions and about 4 days later the symptoms came back all within a 4-hour time period. It was very obvious to me that my Qi was really screwed up. But I'm not going to be dependent on medication, and I'm not going to be dependent on acupuncture. The acupuncture proved that I was on the right track and it gave immediate relief; but I would have to go through many many more sessions before the changes stuck, and those sessions are really expensive. So I didn't go back to the acupuncturist.

What I did was I started learning about Qi. I picked up a video and a book about Qi and Qigong and it has been effective. I'm doing exercises and massaging pressure points and I can literally feel things within me, it's hard to describe but it's almost like I can feel them, repairing. The time I'm spending working on my Qi is very rewarding and uplifting, and I recommend it to everyone.

The DVD that I purchased is Qigong Beginning Practice , by Francesco Garripoli I have gone through this and I am happy with it.

The book that I purchased is The Healing Promise of Qi: Creating Extraordinary Wellness Through Qigong and Tai Chi

I am not a physician and can not comment on your medical situation. I hope, however, that the knowledge of what I went through and how I fixed it will be helpful to you. These recent events have changed my life forever and I am now convinced that Eastern Medicine can be very effective at maintaining health and balance.

Pheezer

It's important to note that Tahnka's post isn't about Eastern Medicine because there's no medicine anywhere in it and that there's really no legitimate scientific or medical basis for buying into what he typed as a solution for your issues.

But I mean hey, it could be a vampire slowly sucking your blood while you sleep. You could try hanging some cloves of garlic in your window.

Regina Fong

It's never wrong to get a second opinion, but in defense of your doctor's advice and his/her behavior, I must say that this hasn't been going on for long enough to justify your doctor being worried. It often takes months and multiple different medications to find one that the patient can tolerate without side effects being too severe and such.

What I'm reading is two months and two different meds. That's not that long, and it's not that many different meds. Your doctor is not unconcerned, but neither is he worried, probably because what's going on isn't unexpected.

As far as feeling shitty on blood pressure meds, I hear you, dude. My aunt was on BP meds for many years, and she never felt as good on any of them as she did before she developed hypertension. The medications don't cure hypertension the way antibiotics cure an infection, unfortunate, but that's the reality for any chronic condition.

So by all means get a second opinion, but continue your treatment and understand that it's likely going to take substantial trial and error to find the best medication.

-edit-

Oh, and since you didn't mention it (your doctor should have already explained this) the reason you shouldn't discontinue treatment on your own is because while BP meds may make you feel worse, the untreated hypertension is actually causing permanent damage to your cardiovascular system that will make you die, likely at a far younger age than you would if untreated.

Treeloot

DVG wrote: »

* Started experiencing daily chest pains, most often off to the left side, occasionally on the right, and once or twice in the center. The pain doesn't generally last long. Usually it just hurts and then fades away, and is almost never an especially severe amount of pain. Sometimes it seems to throb for a while and then goes away.
* Feeling random pains all over, specifically at the area near my knees and elbows, though it's hard to decide exactly where it hurts
* Developed floaters in both eyes
* Frequently experiencing vision "wonkiness" where I feel like I can't quite see right, though I can never figure out what it is I can't see.
* Weakness in my left hand. Was still able to make full use of the hand, but it felt "off"
* Shortness of breath randomly onsetting

I experienced all of the bolded symptoms before I got on anxiety medication. Anxiety and hypertension sometimes go hand in hand. You may or may not have anxiety, but it's definitely something you should look into and discuss with your doctor. If you have any questions about anxiety, feel free to ask me or drop by this chatroom.

I also know the tingly feeling you're describing. I've had it before, and was never sure if it was from anxiety or dry skin. Try putting some lotion on the areas it occurs.